Stern letter makes the RIAA back down

If you follow the RIAA's relentless pursuit of downloaders, you've probably read numerous stories on how they tend to go after those who normally can't defend themselves. With all the easy targets they pick, once in a while they get a fighter, and many of those cases have made the news. Recently, the RIAA made a few mistakes in filing and received quite the response, response enough to make them back down. The RIAA backing down? That certainly does seem to be the case:

In SONY v. Merchant in California, after receiving a sternly worded letter from the defendant's lawyer, Merl Ledford III, of Visalia, California, threatening a malicious prosecution lawsuit, the RIAA immediately withdrew its lawsuit:Citing things such as emotional distress, incorrect filing methods and the potential for a countersuit, the response to the RIAA also attacked their method of settlement. There is a bit of humorous candor in the letter, not the type you'd expect to see from a lawyer, and it makes quite a good read.